The LG Travel News Roundup: Tubing Deaths Lead to Big Changes in Laos

Missed the big travel stories of the week? And the weird, wacky and insignificant ones? We’ve got your roundup right here…

Dangerous Lazy Rivers
Amid rising numbers of tourist deaths in Laos, riverside bars have been closed down. The twenty tourist deaths in 2011 all involved alcohol. It was discovered that tourists were being served alcoholic drinks from these bars, some which were laced with opium and hallucinogenic mushrooms, and then floating down the river. The local authorities have begun to campaign for safety to raise awareness. Source: MSN News

Intrepidly follow in Shackleton’s Footsteps
Intrepid travel is now offering a trip called Shackleton Epic. This journey will take travellers down the path of the twentieth century explorer Earnest Shackleton. The trip will take travellers to places such as Antarctica and Elephant Island. While the real crew of the HMS Endurance suffered greatly on their trip, this is one part of the original experience that today’s journeyers with not have to undergo. Source: Gadling

African Hotels On the Rise
Unexpectedly to most, the hotel business is booming in Africa. Hotel developers are planning to build nearly 40,000 new rooms all over Africa in the next few years. Tourism currently accounts for 7.1 percent of jobs in Africa and the industry is only expected to grow. Source: Huffington Post

Gift For Travellers in Japan
The rail operators of a large Japanese rail company are now offering free LAN wireless internet for visa holders, who should apply for the internet access before they travel. The pass last one day, for many the duration of one’s rail travel in Japan. The access will also have multi language support. Source: Gadling

I recently read a magazine article about these deaths. I agree that one of the saddest things about it is the drinks are laced. Most everyone knows about how many beers they can hold, but when there are substances involved that you didn’t know about, that’s just tragic.

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